AT A MEETING of the TRANSPORT FOR SOUTH HAMPSHIRE JOINT COMMITTEE of HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL, SOUTHAMPTON CITY COUNCIL AND PORTSMOUTH CITY COUNCIL held at Winchester Guildhall on 29 April 2009.
PRESENT:
Hampshire County Council
Councillor M.J. Kendal - Executive Member for Environment
Keith Willcox - Project Director, Transport for South Hampshire
Peter Murnaghan - Project Manager, Transport for South Hampshire
Alison Linnell - Principal Transport Planner
Stuart Jarvis - Managing Director, PUSH
Portsmouth City Council
Councillor Lynne Stagg - Executive Member for Traffic and Transportation
John Slater - Head of Planning Services
Martin Lavers - Tipner Project Manager
Southampton City Council
Councillor Daniel Fitzhenry
Phil Marshall - Regional Transport Planner
Vijay Manro - Network Manager
Neil Pearce - South East England Development Agency
Richard Soper - South Hampshire Bus Operators Association
Paul Robinson - Highways Agency
David Cooper - Government Office for the South East
Steve Williamson - Williamson Transport Planning
Graham Ellis - Hampshire Economic Partnership
John Foster - Gosport Ferry
Alasdair Couper-Johnston - Network Rail
Phil Dominey - South West Trains
Observers
Eastleigh Borough Council:
Councillor David Airey
Fareham Borough Council
Andy Viccars
Havant Borough Council
Councillor Jenny Wride
Winchester City Council
Dan Massey
65 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Matthew Dean, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, Southampton City Council; Councillor Chris Treleaven, New Forest District Council; Councillor David Swanbrow, Fareham Borough Council; Nick Hunt, New Forest District Council; Councillor Keith Wood, Winchester City Council; Natalie Chapman and Gordon Telling, Freight Transport Association and David Lees, Southampton International Airport.
66 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally at the time of the debate declare their interest, and having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Code.
There were no declarations made by Members under this item.
67 CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Chairman reported on some recent developments. Members were informed that Transport for South Hampshire (TfSH) was successful in winning Government approval to spend £20 million on phase one of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme. Whilst this would allow TfSH to make a start on the BRT network, Members were informed that there were still some hurdles to overcome.
The Chairman reported that the publication of the Regional Funding Advice for South East England had brought forward the Tipner Interchange scheme to start in 2010/11 and the Eastern Approaches to Southampton scheme to start in 2014.
It was reported that TfSH officers are providing support to other authorities in preparing Major Scheme Business Cases for packages of transport schemes, thereby demonstrating that the partnership is widely recognised and respected.
It was reported that TfSH was trying to get more engaged with the Regional Transport Board and so press the case for South Hampshire more effectively.
The Chairman informed Members that the dates of the next two meetings of the Joint Committee had been changed to Tuesday 30 June 2009 and Wednesday 30 September 2009 in order to comply with the statutory duty to approve TfSH accounts by 30 June and enable TfSH's auditor to present his findings by 30 September.
68 MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2009 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
69 EVIDENCE BASE AND MODELLING
The Joint Committee received a presentation from Steve Williamson. Members were provided with background detail to put the report on the evidence base and modelling into context. It was highlighted to Members that recent changes to the planning agendas would form the basis of the presentation.
It was emphasised that Department for Transport (DfT) funding would be available to develop DaSTS (Delivering a Sustainable Transport System) planning to help support economic growth. However, final programmes would need to be submitted to the DfT by December 2011 to be eligible for funding. It was emphasised that funding would only be secured from Government if transport planning schemes were compliant with DfT guidance. Any programmes would need detailed justification and appraisal to receive funding, and so it would be important to develop a robust evidence base that identifies problems and schemes to meet objectives.
The Joint Committee then considered the report of the Hampshire Director of Environment (Item 5 in the Minute Book). It was emphasised that the work on the evidence base and modelling was important to the delivery of projects and that the timing was critical. A robust evidence base is needed to demonstrate that interventions are justified and to unlock funding . It was acknowledged that this had to be done through the collection of suitable and relevant data and a suitable transport modelling tool. The timetable would be tight, but achievable. Therefore, it was important that the recommendations were agreed to help meet the timescales.
Graham Ellis of the Hampshire Economic Partnership expressed concern that the Transport Strategy appeared to relate only to PUSH and TfSH, and not the other regional transport studies that had been mentioned in Mr Williamson's presentation
Councillor Stagg reiterated the need for consistency across the regions, and both questioners were reassured by Officers that they would seek to liaise with other regional counterparts and stakeholders to ensure that the model is suitably linked.
RESOLVED:
That:
(i) Transport for South Hampshire budgets be secured for 2009/10 and commitments made for 2010/11 and 2011/12 to move forward the required evidence base.
(ii) Transport for South Hampshire engages with funding agencies, stakeholders, and the private sector (developers) to secure commitments towards the cost of the evidence base, including data collection and transport modelling.
(iii) Expressions of interest be invited for the work streams involved in providing a transport modelling framework for the sub-region.
(iv) Transport for South Hampshire appoints Hampshire County Council as `Lead Authority' to commission and manage the work related to the transport modelling process and tools, to include the appraisal process of the evidence base for the sub-region as described within the report.
(v) Additional data collection be carried out in Autumn 2009 by Hampshire County Council in its role as `Lead Authority'.
70 BUSINESS PLANNING
The Committee considered the report of the Hampshire Director of Environment (Item 6 in the Minute Book) seeking approval to extend the existing 2007-09 Business Plan to provide for business continuity. Officers explained that the plan reflected the political year, and it was therefore proposed to continue with the current Plan until the next meeting, when Local Elections had taken place and a new Plan would be placed before the Committee. Members were provided with a draft outline of the future work plan, and whilst it was in an advanced stage, it was noted that there is a likely to be a need to review the resources available to deliver the transport outcomes.
RESOLVED:
That the Joint Committee approves the rolling forward of the existing 2007-09 Business Plan, pending consideration of a new Plan at the next meeting.
71 ACCESS TO TIPNER
The Committee received the oral report of the Portsmouth Head of Planning Services and the Tipner Project Manager on the plans for access to Tipner, particularly the proposed new interchange. It was highlighted that the Regional Transport Board (RTB) funding was provided with an expectation of fast track delivery and therefore, needed to be spent between 2010-2012. Tipner was a site of strategic importance with new housing, commercial economic development and park and ride plans afoot, but there had been little time to produce an evidence base and modelling due to the RTB timetable. It was demonstrated that the funding secured for the scheme will pay for a roundabout at the interchange, with North and South facing slip roads.
An outline of the scheme costs was provided. Officers were confident that costs were likely to go down, and were more concerned about the tight timescale to commit the funding. Milestones were identified that needed to be worked to, and background work was taking place to ensure deadlines were met.
It was noted that Tipner was being considered as part of the Bus Rapid Transit network and so would help the momentum to continue forward. A more detailed report on future phases of BRT would be provided at a future meeting.
Councillor Kendal asked for clarification on the proposed bus lane at the interchange. Officers informed him that this would demonstrate to commuters an express route into the city that gives buses priority, and would encourage commuters out of cars into the park and ride.
72 BUDGET MONITORING 2008-09; BUDGET 2009/10 AND FINANCIAL PROTOCOLS
The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer and the Hampshire Director of Environment (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the budget monitoring for 2008/09, the budget for 2009/10 and Financial Protocols. Officers providing a brief overview of the main issues.
It was noted that Lead Authorities needed to be appointed to projects similar to Tipner, since Transport for South Hampshire cannot hold and deliver a budget of that size as the risks need to be contained by Local Authorities. It was also highlighted that the carry forward of the PUSH funding underspend from the 2008/09 revenue and capital budgets would be subject to agreement from PUSH.
RESOLVED:
That the Joint Committee:
(i) Notes the anticipated final outturn for revenue and capital budgets for the 2008/09 financial year.
(ii) Approves the carry forward of underspend from the 2008/09 revenue and capital budgets to 2009/10, subject to agreement from PUSH for the carry over of £700,000 capital funds.
(iii) Approves the revenue and capital budgets for 2009/10.
(iv) Approves the Financial Protocols set out in Appendix 1 which replace the interim financial arrangements.
(v) Appoints Portsmouth City Council as Lead Authority to deliver the Tipner project; and Hampshire County Council as Lead Authority to deliver the M27 Junction 5 improvements.
(vi) Requires Lead Authorities to provide financial updates on whole scheme spend of relevant projects (including Bus Rapid Transit, M27 Junction 5 and Tipner) to feed into future quarterly budget monitoring reports.
(vii) Arranges Joint Committee meetings at the end of June and September to meet the statutory audit approval timetable.
73 REGIONAL TRANSPORT BOARD
The Committee received an oral update from the Project Director on the Regional Transport Board meeting held on the 22 April 2009. A broad outline of the items on the agenda was provided for Members. Members were keen that Transport for South Hampshire be represented on the board and were informed that a letter had been passed to the Chairman of the Board with a response awaited.
The Project Director highlighted two items on the agenda, a report on DaSTs and a report on the future of the rail system. Members were informed that a rail vision for South Hampshire would be brought to a future meeting of the Joint Committee.